Most millennials consider home ownership important, says poll

Howard Alexander - News Editor

A house built in 1930 that was recently listed for sale for $2.398-million is seen in the Point Grey neighbourhood of Vancouver, B.C., on Friday January 29, 2016. A new CIBC survey shows 86 per cent of millennials view home ownership as important even though 42 per cent of them are renting and 21 per cent live with their parents.

Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

March 25, 2016 - 8:00 PM

TORONTO - A new poll by CIBC (TSX:CM) suggests home ownership is just as important to millennials as it is to most Canadians.

The survey shows 86 per cent of millennials view home ownership as important even though 42 per cent of them are renting and 21 per cent live with their parents.

Overall, according to the poll, 85 per cent of Canadians consider home ownership a priority.

Of those, 63 per cent say it makes financial sense to build equity and save for retirement while 59 per cent of millennials in the 18-34 age group say home ownership provides a sense of personal freedom.

Conversely, 15 per cent of Canadians say home ownership is not important, with nearly half saying it's too big of a financial burden

Barry Gollom, vice president of mortgages and lending at CIBC, says it's a myth that millennials don't want to own their own home.

"In fact our poll suggests that millennials place as much importance on being a home owner as Canadians in other age groups," he said.

"Home ownership is an important milestone to many, and that hasn't changed even though it has become increasingly difficult to get into the market."

OPINION At least part of me wasn’t sure I should write this, given what happened last time. It was August 15, 2003 and like many Thursdays before it, I was scratching around for a column idea. The summer newsroom